NC Voters ‘Overwhelmingly’ Back Renewables

North Carolina voters across political parties “overwhelmingly” support increased use of clean energy, according to a Fallon Research poll announced by the NC Sustainable Energy Association.

Some 90 percent of respondents support solar, 88 percent support energy efficiency programs and 82 percent support the use of land-based wind energy, according to the survey.

Furthermore, 83 percent of respondents think North Carolina officials should seek more renewable energy sources to provide consumers and businesses with affordable electricity.

Voters of all political hues favor clean energy policy, according to the poll: Democrats (86 percent), Republicans (77 percent) and independents (84 percent).

In 2007, North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to adopt the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard law, which, according to the poll, received support from 71 percent of North Carolinians this year.

The law requires North Carolina’s electric power providers to generate a portion of their electricity needs through renewable energy resources enabling over $2 billion in renewable energy investments since 2007.

Driven largely by the state’s market-based clean energy policies, North Carolina was recently named one of the fastest growing markets for clean energy solutions, and is now ranked second nationwide in solar power installations, according to the NCSEA.